generationGeog 1000 – Unit 15: racialization and Indigeneity Latin American

Part 1: What Is Indigenous

Ö They are indigenous people and afro descendent people in Caribbean and central America.

History

Ö The carb people migrated from south American to the carbine island around 1200
Ö The moved in and mixed with people now called Arawak also called the tiano.
Ö Garifuna language today includes elements from both these languages
Ö After the European started to take over the Caribbean, many of these 2 peoples survived on
islands that the European were no able to conquer for a long time. 1600- 1700
Ö Island of ST Vincent
Ö In 1635 2 Spanish ship carrying African slaves came to the island through shipwreck or may
be seized by inhabitants.
Ö African people joined the island and created the new culture and language with the English
called the “black Carbs” and these people evolved into carbs of Garifuna.
Ö Eventually the British conquered the island and the Garifuna were taken off to the coast of
Honduras
Ö From there they spread through the east coast of central America, primarily to the
Honduras and nigarcua.
Ö Ensembled some escaped slave by Haiti and picking some element of their culture.

Ö Combined African, Caribbean and European.

Ö They didn’t think of themselves as indigenous until 1980

Ö Complex mixing of people that made groups.

What is Indigenous in Latin American and Caribbean

Ö Avatar – indigenous was stereotyped living with the nature.

Ö 4 characteristics

1) Ancestry (necessary but not sufficient)

- Trace some aspect to people who lived pre-Columbian
- Not sufficient – most won’t call indigenous

2) Distinctiveness (often)
- Often by their food, clothes, dress
- It’s about your culture – it can also be ambiguous
 3) Territory and Community (often)
- Sovereignty over land
- Pushed into area not good for agriculture
- Identity tied to that land

4) Recognition (required)
- Group need to recognize by themselves as indigenous
- Recognized by groups that they are indigenous
- Core criteria
- Garifuna are indigenous are recognized as indigenous.

Part 2: Indigenous Geographies and UNDRIP

 Most indigenous people are in areas where many Spanish colonizers were not
interested in due to land (agriculture) or being remote and inaccessible.

 Indigenous would sometime be able to fight of colonizer such as mountain – Andes

mountains.

 It’s not easy to count who is indigenous

 Most people now are being recognizes as indigenous people.

 UN permeant form of indigenous – rights for indigenous people

 Core principle of declaration

- Right to traditional territories

- Self determination
- Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)
- Language and cultural practises
- Recognized as people

 Who opposed declaration?

- New Zealand
- Australia
- US
- Canada

English speaking settlers’ colonies –

 Free = means consent is not coursed
Consent = before the project started
Before = have information to anything before they give consent

Canada government say it should say consultation – harper government think it would
give indigenous people have veto rights

Part 3: Indigenous peoples Mobilization and struggles (sovereignty)

 Indigenous people movement often want autonomy – they often want territorial rights
that challenge national territorial sovereignty.

 They don’t only want equal rights but territorial rights too – to make law about their
territory.

 Modern sovereignty

- Territorial
- Homogenous
- Singular and exclusive – Canadian territory is only Canadian territory.

 Indigenous sovereignty also compromises modern sovereignty – many indigenous

groups in Canada and Latin America do not accept a sovereignty from national states.

 Examples

 Indigenous mobilizations

 Common Features
- Making territories and territorial sovereignty
- Often concerns themselves with environmental protection – to defend their
livelihoods.

 Diversity
- Ideological orientation, engagement with national and international institution,
degree to which they mobilize indigenous cultural markets and more.

Example 1

Ö Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico: Invaded land and took over local government
 Ö Strong identification with past revolutionary movement and anti-capitalism and or /
anarchism.

Ö Oriented to local autonomy and self defense

Ö Invaded large land owned by landowners and claimed territorial autonomy from the
Mexican government – army was sent but the conflict has needed in the standoff

Ö Zapatista are still controlling the territory.

Ö New Controversy: They Maya Train – new president is forcing to build a new railway

Ö Plan is to go from Yucatan chaps touching the territory controlled and administered by
zaptiehs.

Ö Zapata’s opposed the project – but have not consulted and consented with us.

Ö Yucatan and Guatemala have Mayan people – but had the government involved the
Mayan people at other than the ceremony.

Ö The project will be very destructive for the tropical forest found in southern Mexico

Ö Some indigenous groups support but many oppose, citing lack of consent for the
projects across their territories.

Example 2

Ö The Garifuna in Honduras

Ö Fighting palm oil plantation, dams and Canadian real estate developers

Ö Installed a dictatorship – government has been giving space to investors to build resort
and palm oil plantation and dams, displacing the Garifuna communities and their
livelihoods of fishing and farming.

Ö Also destroying forests for palm oil plantations

Ö So, one of the major real Este investors if you are a Canadian based in Montreal – resort
for Canadian American to live.

Ö Honduras are violent community.

Ö Part of their strategy is to take these cases to international court – inter American
human rights court
 Ö Invoke ethnic and the fact that Honduras signed on to the UN declaration of the rights
of indigenous people to claim they have the right to decide the developments in their
territory.

Example 3: Indigenous people in Nicaragua

Ö Siding initially with anti-revolutionary forces after 1979 revolution

Ö Most lived where there was good agricultural land – west side

Ö Left wing government tried to take control of the Caribbean government – they had
good intention – but the indigenous people wanted to overthrow them

Ö Indigenous people sited with American government to fight the war against left wing
government.

Ö Government of Nicaragua have signed an agreement with china to build a canal across
Nicaragua which would be alternative to Panama Canal

Ö But many groups don’t want to build a canal through their territory

Ö Nicaragua has signed on to convention of rights of indigenous people and thus claimed
they got consent from indigenous people, but this is disputed by many and not free but
corked.

Part 4: The making of race in Latin America

Ö Racialized identities are made by how people attribute meaning to physical and cultural
differences among social group and act on these.

Part 5: Explaining racialization and Racism historically.

There has been a lot of intense debate and conflict around the question of whether indigenous people
should have the right to consent to projects on land that has been recognized as indigenous (and even
more broadly), or whether that should mean consultation, but not the right for an indigenous
community to ultimately say no to a project that community not want on their land.   Comment on
this issue; if you have a clear opinion that you are willing to share, please do so

From my perspective, Indigenous people should have full rights over the land that has been
recognized as theirs. They should be consulted and asked for proper consent if any project
touches or crosses their land. This land hold a sentimental value to them their ancestors and
future generation. The land and resources associated with it are part of their culture and when
government exploits indigenous land their culture and traditions diminish over time. For
example, for the Zapata people in Latin America are not happy with the Maya train project
touching their land as it hurts the tropical forest, where they have live and rely for food,
medicine and other necessities.